After An Educator's Journey
Out of the classroom & into the universe
recent posts
about
Once upon a time, I taught 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders. Now I’m retired and working on new ventures.
Category: The Craft of Teaching
-
Like a lot of ideas, Teach For America sounds good, but in actuality? Well, that’s a decision you would have to come to on your own. As a nonprofit, TFA’s stated slogan is “One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.” Who could argue with that? Creating a…
-
The Daily Five Tip of the Week had a wonderful cover story this week. In it, Lori Sabo writes about the lasting impact Joan Moser had on a former first grader, recent high school graduate. In the end, the former student describes her current self through the books she loves. Beyond the well-deserved thanks that Joan…
-
Have you read this tale of horrors published in Edushyster? Amy Berard’s post “I Am Not Tom Brady“, published on July 22, tells of how her school and school district contracted with a group of consultants to improve student engagement and teacher performance. Make that, mostly “improve” teacher performance. Picture an experienced teacher being “coached” by…
-
Educational leaders could take a page from one of the world’s leaders in the automotive industry. Lately, educational leadership types keep trying to model education after industry. One of the problems with that idea is that some aspects of successful companies seems to be conveniently forgotten. For whatever reason, leaders at national and state, and…
-
Recently the New York Times published an article revealing some of the back story about standardized test scoring. Read the story in entirety here. Is there anyone else who finds the bar for test scorers a little low? This year our grade level team struggled to standardize both on-demand and project writing samples. Trust me,…
-
I’ve been privileged to teach in a school that embraced the tenets of Responsive Classroom. If you’ve never been exposed to this program, explore this link. There is a calm sense of purposefulness in Responsive Classroom schools; it begins right from the first days of school when students are explicitly taught expectations for their own…
-
My fourth graders had a burning question all year long: How old are you? I’m not so much embarrassed by my age, as I am shocked at how quickly I got to this ripe spot in my timeline. However, having said that, I do not directly answer that question. Instead, I always give the students…
-
Yesterday, after 360 days together, my students and I said good-bye. From here on, they are off to Middle School and, in all probability, we will not cross paths again. It was, for me, a bittersweet moment. And perhaps it was for some of them as well. We’ve had our share of challenges and our…
-
Some of my favorite episodes from Grey’s Anatomy were those in which Ellis Grey, in real life Sybil Burton, appeared. The bristly nature of that character often led viewers to think Ellis Grey, who on the surface seemed hard and unfeeling toward her daughter, Meredith, was without maternal instincts. However, in one of her final…
-
Like lots of teachers, I am burnt to a crisp mentally by the time June arrives. Some years, this happens sooner – usually those are the years that can be identified as curriculum change years. This year has been a particular challenge. You see, this year, everything was new again. I have been teaching for a…
After An Educator's Journey 